WW-P’s winter sports season was marked with milestones and achievements for teams at both High Schools with a girl from each of the schools’ basketball teams reaching her 1,”000th career point, a star track runner carrying his record-breaking success over from the fall, and the South girls’ swim team dominating at the Mercer County and Public Central A state championships.##M:[more]##
A main story all season long was the South girls’ swim team. From the get-go, they proved a tough challenge for any competitor in their way. The team beat Egg Harbor, 103-67, on February 21 in the NJSIAA Public A State Semifinal and went to the state final where they faced Westfield on February 24.
While the team lost the meet, 106-64, a few of the team’s season-long standouts swam their best times. Brynja Winnan set a school record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.79, although she placed second in that event. Meredith Ketchmark placed first in the 200 individual medley in 2:13.74, while Rebecca Lewinson broke the school record with a time of 57.78 in her first place finish in the 100-butterfly. She also placed first in the 100-breaststroke with a time of 1:06.50. The 200-free relay team also set a school record with a win in 1:40.08. Winnan also placed first in the 100-backstroke with a time of 1:00.13.
To cap the season off, in the Meet of Champions on March 1, Lewinson emerged with two state titles, including her second-straight title in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.73. She was also part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team with teammates Winnan, Ketchmark, and Paola Simon. The team finished in 3:34.94.
The South boys and both North swim teams also saw very successful seasons this year. The South boys ended their season with a 10-2 record, lead by Joey Grant, who had a great showing at the Pirates Invitational, with two first-place finishes in the 50- and 100- yard freestyle. Also at the Pirate Invitational, Hugh Le took third in the 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke.
At the state Meet of Champions, Grant placed eighth in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:47.58. The 200-freestyle relay team took 13th place, and the 400-freestlye relay team took 12th.
Despite extremely close losses to Ocean Township in the sectional semifinals this year, both North teams excelled. Lead by standouts including Kelly Covey, Michelle Cino, Virginia Hung, Rocio Riestra, and Abby Whitlow, the girls’ season ended with an impressive 12-3 record. Hung finished 15th in the 100-butterfly at the Meet of Champions. For the boys, Evan Hundley, Edwin Chiu, Nick Covey, and Derek Chiao, helped lead their team to a 10-4 record.
In basketball, the Pirates girls’ team had a successful 22-4 run by the time the Mercer County Tournament was over, and the girls made it all the way to the championship round before falling to their biggest competitor, Trenton.
Throughout the season, they were the victors over cross-town rivals High School North every time the two teams met. While they also fell in the state tournament, they boasted a final 22-5 record this season and sent off their star senior guard, Becky Peters, with more than 1,”000 career points as she heads to Fordham next year.
Peters wasn’t the only girl to reach that milestone. Senior Kathy Ruiz at High School North hit her 1,”000th point in February, heading into the state tournament. The girls finished with a 14-13 record.
The South boys’ basketball team also finished with a winning 15-10 record this year, and successfully took out High School North in both games it played against its in-district rivals.
The first ice hockey match-up between North and South ended in a tie. The North boys opened the season with an undefeated 7-0-2 record before losing to South in a later game. While they fell to Northern Highlands on March 5 in the state tournament, they still had an excellent 17-7-2 record. The South boys finished with a 11-11-3 record.
The South diving team took first place in the county this year. Mallory Swanson, with her second place finish for the girls, Alexandra Olgin, with a score of 163.45, Danielle Erickson, with a score of 153.55, and Michael Cassrona, with a score of 190.1, helped lead the Pirates. For North, diver Kieran Jones also had a great season, with first place in the boys’ championships with a score of 208.9.
The North boys’ and South girls’ winter track teams both came away with sectional championships last month, and Brian Leung ran the fastest 3,”200-meter race of any high school indoor track athlete in the nation this season with his win at the Meet of Champions last month with a time of 8:59.77.
Both schools’ fencing programs have consistently grown since their inception a few years ago, and both schools have fared well. The South girls have a 9-1 record so far, and the boys have a 9-4 record. Briana Nieradka placed fourth in the individual epee and Sharon Gao, with her record of 17-1 in individual matches this year, placed second in the individual foil. Those individual fencers made it to the state round. For the boys, Alex Guo took second in the individual sabre and also made states. Its foil squad, which placed fourth in the District II championships in February, also enjoyed a trip to the states.
At North, the boys’ epee squad finished seventh in the state squad championships this month, led by Joseph Behnke, Hamad Masood, and Stefan Haas-Heye. The squad made the state finals, which was scheduled to take place on March 6. The girls’ epee squad took a big first place finish at the district II championships in February, and the boys’ epee squad placed third.
